Abandoned stations — also known as ghost stations — are all around us. Over 40 of them haunt London's rail network. In an extract from their new book for kids, The London Underground: 50 Things to See & Do, Geoff Marshall and Vicki Pipe tell us of three ghost stations you can catch a glimpse of while riding the tube.
Down Street
This ghost station — and former part-time wartime office of Winston Churchill — is on the Piccadilly line in between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner. If you're heading west from Green Park, or east from Hyde Park Corner, look out the right-hand side of the train (facing direction of travel). The point at which the platforms have been bricked up provides the evidence. You can spot the tunnel wall changing to bricks as the train goes past.
Osterley & Spring Grove
This former station — closed because it couldn't keep up with passenger numbers — is just 200 metres east of the current-day Osterley station, and the old platforms are still in place. If you are travelling to or from Osterley station, look out of the windows (best done during daylight!) to spot the original station.
King's Cross
This King's Cross station — which opened in 1863 as King's Cross Metropolitan and later became King's Cross Thameslink — is a short distance east of the current station. If you're on a train heading east towards Farringdon, look out of the window on the right-hand side and you’ll see the old section of platform still in place.
